Mapbox Employees Have Unionized

  • Please sell me on the value of unionizing.

    At the moment, I don't support engineers unionizing in tech. But my mind is open, and I'm ready to change my view on this.

    Here's why this is where I stand:

    System/software/hardware engineering is one of the most highly-compensated and least-regulated careers out there. It's the only career where an individual can make over $100,000/year without having to complete years of additional training or apprenticeship. Unlike consulting (also non-unionized), you don't even need to graduate from target schools to get paid in this industry! I'm not talking about pure cash comp, either. Tech and tech-adjacent companies typically offer very good insurance policies with low/no-cost, great long-term disability benefits, great vacation and time-off policies, and more.

    Engineers have also been in a seller's market for a long time. "Recruiters fill my inbox so much, I have to ignore them" is a common trope in this industry. Engineers very much have the option of leaving a company if they disagree with work conditions.

    All I see are companies spending more money on bolstering their legal and HR departments to implement union relations. Which means less money and benefits for us.

  • Love to see it

  • That's right.

  • Going to be fun watching this backfire.

  • Amazing news. Love to see the push for workers rights in tech.

  • If unionization takes hold for tech / software engineering type jobs, I’m curious what this will do to the ability of companies to effectively compete and attract talent. The best people I know are aware of their value and typically want to work with like minded motivated people. How many pro-union people here have actually put in time at union shops in more traditional industries to understand the perverse incentive structure unions can have on individual productivity.